Men & Chicken

A film appears from time to time, defying any attempt at categorization, a film so strange, absurd, disturbing but also comic and human, that a special genre must be created for it and the film declared as the head of the series. This is the case with 'Men & Chicken', a movie released on screens in 2015, written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen. It's a film that doesn't belong in my comfort zone, and the viewing experience was mixed for me, alternating moments when I wondered 'what is this nonsense about?' with moments of real cinematic fascination. This is the second film by the Danish director that I have seen in the last ten days and the fact that Jensen is one of the most original and interesting screenwriters and directors not only in Denmark but also in the whole world seems undeniable to me.

Elias (Mads Mikkelsen) and Gabriel (David Dencik) are brothers. On his deathbed, their father confesses to them that they are in fact adopted. Their biological father lives somewhere, on an isolated island with a population of 42 inhabitants. While searching for hime, they will discover a landscape worthy of horror movies, a farm full of animals and the fact that they have three more brothers. The two are already pretty weird characters, but that's nothing compared to how their brothers look and behave. From here the film slips into an intrigue and an atmosphere that combines the absurd with the grotesque, the rude with the bizarre. Almost anything I can write here would be a spoiler, so I'll just say that the five brothers will discover the hidden secrets of their own origins and natures together.

Anders Thomas Jensen practices a kind of humor in this film that is far from my personal taste. The film is full of extremes that can only be taken as a joke. Even if I am resistant to many of the types of effects that are current in modern horror movies, I dislike some of the stuff exposed in this film. Mads Mikkelsen is formidable and the whole team of actors is able to build a world of strange characters whose behaviors, if they follow any rules, these are totally different from the usual. The scenario holds surprises at every turn, it is impossible to predict what will happen in the next minute, especially since what is happening does not always make sense. There is a message in this film, and it is an important one, but before I got to it I had to make the effort to endure many scenes and situations that were hard to digest for me. 'Men & Chicken' belongs to the category of films that I can appreciate in terms of cinematography and originality, but whose viewing require an effort for me.

OK. Admittedly, I'm biased. I'm an enormous fan of Anders Thomas Jensen's movies and pretty much adore everything he's ever made or been even tangentially involved in, but up until now I was very firmly of the belief that 'Blinkende Lygter' was and would always remain my favourite of ATJ's movies. That was until I saw 'Mænd & Høns' and fell completely and traitorously in love.

A perfect balance of black (oh god so so black) humour and pathos, this movie is a testament to ATJ's wonderfully deft touch with both. The characters, surreal and ridiculous as they are, are played with such humanity and conviction, that one cannot help but love them all, every last weird, disgusting one of them. As dual-lead, David Dencik is both loathsome and pathetically lovable as Gabriel. Nicolas Bro is a delight as always as the loquacious over-sharing Joseph, as is an almost unrecognisable Søren Malling as Franz. However, whereas it's normally Nicolaj Lie Haas that takes the comedic football and runs uncontested for the touchline, 'Mænd & Høns' is (definitely) Mads Mikkelsen's movie. As the compulsively masturbating, bombastic Elias, Mikkelsen reaps the lion's share of the comedic lines, delivering them with such incredible timing and bravado you can't help but think he missed his vocation when he opted for a career as leading-man heart-throb over bumbling idiotic funnyman.

I can't say enough good about this film. Watch it as soon as a UK release is available. Talk about it until there is. Petition your local cinemas. Buy 'Mænd & høns' t-shirts and bore your friends. I know I will.

In recent decades, in the West, it has been difficult to create a production where "variously challenged" persons are subject to irony, mockery, with characteristic violence and non-piety. The US is probably out of the question already, only Brits and Scandinavians have still dared to create something different within the subject mentioned. Mænd & høns is another fine example of them, with excellent script and direction (Anders Thomas Jensen) and strong ensemble cast (virtually all performers belong to the finest contemporary Danish film actors) have provided a meaty and distinct result.

True, not all characters are at the same level, e.g. Søren Malling and Nicolas Bro could not reveal their talent in full, but David Dencik, Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas were brilliant again - and in such different roles! No villains, no clerks, no policemen... Those not acquainted with those names should definitely see other films with their presence - to realise how versatile actors they are.

It is evident that some social strata may feel themselves affected and somewhat resentful, but the film should not be taken too seriously. However, it contains multiple warnings and attitudes that can/should be avoided.

All in all, another good Danish film, recommended to them fond of twisted humour connected with society-related stuff to be pondered on and over.

Anders Thomas Jensen has been known for spawning very creative stories, ones that are arguably designed for the absurd. Even if this is the case, there's an underlying genius to what he has created with 'Men and Chicken' (Mænd & høns). Whatever the idea might have been, it came together in the end perfectly.

The story revolves around two brothers from Denmark who suffer from grotesque appearances and other mental issues that hinder them on a daily basis. While one brother, Gabriel, is a University professor who can't maintain a relationship, the other is the loose-cannon, Elias (phenomenally played by Mads Mikkelsen), who also has relationship issues and can't seem to go more than an hour without having to gratify himself.

The brothers learn from their now deceased father that he was not their biological father, that the real one is a Geneticist who specializes in Stem Cell Research, fathered both men with different women, and that he resides on a remote island. While this excites Gabriel at first due to his assumptions that him and Elias could not be related, they embark on a journey that reveals their true family history. They find out that they have three other half-brothers who live on the remote island, and surprise surprise, they have similar features. While Elias is able to, say, communicate with the loners of the island in far less civilized methods, Gabriel attempts to help improve their ways of problem solving by talking and not by hilarious slapstick comedy beatings.

It seems as if the story gets its inspiration from Kafka's 'The Metamorphisis'. So very "Kafka-esque" ('Mission Hill' reference). I'll let that idea sit with you.

The film breaks the barriers of creativity in storytelling from both a comedic and dramatic perspective. It opens and closes as if reading a kids storybook, the musical score has a certain creepy feel to it, and the makeup and design all around was made to give the characters a worn down and dirty look that couldn't have possibly been any better.

What was really fantastic about the film was despite the absurdity, the story really gelled into something of substance and quality. It told us that aren't able to choose our family, and that being different is the best thing in the world.

The film ends on the note that every life -- be it creature or human, ugly or pretty, fat or skinny — is truly a small miracle. Things happen that are out of your control, and when you learn about what who you really are, it is possible to find comfort and acceptance.

"For the very simple reason that life is life, and that the alternative is not preferable."

Frequent beatings with cast iron skillets and hard stuffed animals, eugenics experiments gone tragically awry, and five brothers with a propensity for extremely odd and deviant behavior, all combine in a twisted Danish comedy blockbuster. Receiving news of their father's death, brothers Gabriel and Elias reunite after a long period of not contacting each other. They set out to collect the body from a remote and sparsely populated island and dilapidated mansion with free- roaming chickens, goats, sheep and three brothers they never knew they had. None of the siblings is playing with a full deck, yet the one language they have in common is violence. Their attempts to reconcile are hilarious and result in childish fights over insane rules, cheese, who gets a plate with their favorite animal on it, beatings with rolling pins as well as a stuffed beaver, and memorable trips to town to find women. Every subject is fair game for humor including kids, science, hygiene, families, politics, the sick and dead, elders, animals, the handicapped, gender, sex and more.

This really warped and genuinely funny film is truly an original. It is an antidote to the same old gruel from the traditional studios. The soundtrack, including music from vibrating saws, is a perfect accompaniment to the bizarre behavior of this non-traditional and wacky family. The acting is well done. Yes, that is Mads Mikkelsen! The only drawback is the difficulty in translation and a wish that the film was longer. Real life inspiration for the film included the director's four kids, who fought over animal plates as the brothers do on screen. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015.